I Thought I Was Investing in My Future. Then a Bank Manager Said Something That Sent Chills Down My Spine.

"The advice I'd always been given is that novice investors should never try to play the market, no attempts to buy low/sell high or pick additional stocks, and that seemed very sound, as I have no experience in the field, so I just kept my hands off and assumed that the fund manager was doing whatever needed to be done."

"The manager I spoke with there accessed my account, did a double-take, and said something that made my blood run cold. Bank Manager: "What's all this money doing sitting as cash?" Me: "It's doing what????" Yep. Apparently my strategy was too hands-off, there was no automatic investment into safe index funds as I assumed was happening, you have to actively put IRA money somewhere. So there's two decades of potential compound interest down the drain."

"I should have acted then, because the market's only trended up, although...who knows for how much longer, because of course there's still political turmoil. I've now got $130,000 I need to do something with- just planning to go with my bank's S&P index-but since I'm investing that big a chunk all at once as opposed to just a monthly contribution, buying when the market is strong seems like a bad idea."

Work began at age 18 with a SIMPLE IRA and a 3 percent employer match, supplemented by personal contributions currently at 21 percent. The account owner intentionally avoided active management, trusting that investments would be handled automatically. After twenty years, a bank manager revealed the IRA funds had been held in cash rather than invested, eliminating two decades of compound growth. A short delay followed due to political concerns, during which the market rose. The account now holds $130,000 intended for an S&P index investment, and there is worry about the risks of investing a large lump sum at market highs.

Read at Slate Magazine